tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post8373882894882037893..comments2018-02-13T09:29:00.337+00:00Comments on Broken Barnet: Code Seven: The destruction of Barnet LibrariesMrs Angryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-38352775188141426612017-05-05T18:30:09.914+01:002017-05-05T18:30:09.914+01:00Mrs A, I am genuinely devastated for you. Librarie...Mrs A, I am genuinely devastated for you. Libraries, in my view, aren&#39;t an optional service, they&#39;re not a luxury, they&#39;re a vital part of the fabric of a local community and the way that they&#39;re treated speaks volumes about how that community is viewed by those in control. <br /><br />As an Enfield resident, I&#39;m better off in terms of libraries, as none of ours have yet closed (although my local one has been closed for months and rumours that it won&#39;t reopen in its current, beautiful, building have been firmly denied by Enfield Council). <br /><br />In order to keep them open, we have reduced opening hours, most staff have been made redundant, to be replaced by volunteers (unsurprisingly they&#39;ve found it difficult to recruit, competing, as they are with more traditional users of volunteers). Children&#39;s facilities have been particularly hit, with the timetable of activities we used to enjoy across all libraries now limited to the four &#39;hubs&#39; and space reduced (to little corners in some cases). <br /><br />These complaints seem insignificant when I read of the wanton destruction of Barnet&#39;s library service. <br /><br />I can&#39;t offer much more than my heartfelt support and admiration for you and your colleagues who are fighting against the cuts, but I hope that you can take something from that.Sparkles JDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16437279868711982995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-36716496004375822072017-04-29T00:13:29.141+01:002017-04-29T00:13:29.141+01:00Anonymous, 8.01: I am not going to publish your of...Anonymous, 8.01: I am not going to publish your offensive comment - Childs Hill Library is run by not one but two groups, Kisharon and Mencap, supposedly on behalf of the local community, and there is absolutely no reason why this branch should not open on a Saturday - if there are sufficient volunteers, which clearly there are not. <br /><br />And unfortunately, because the branch is also closed on Friday, it means that any Jewish members of the community cannot come to borrow books for Shabbat, a practice which, as I know from the many years I worked in Golders Green library - regrettably now closed for several months - is a vital resource for Charedi families in the area, who particularly rely on borrowing books for children on this day. <br /><br />Sadly, the much used children&#39;s library in Golders Green will now disappear forever, as a result of our Tory councillors&#39; devastating cuts. This will be a terrible blow for parents and children in the area, and I hope they make their views known to their local representatives, library spokesperson Reuben Thompstone, and Dean and Melvin Cohen.<br /><br />In Childs Hill, residents unable to access their library on Fridays and Saturdays may like to bring this up with Councillors Ryde and Zinkin - I think we can absolve our friend Cllr Jack Cohen, as he was the one who told me, with disbelief, about the Saturday closing in the first place?Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.com